U.S. patent number 5,017,202 [Application Number 07/337,390] was granted by the patent office on 1991-05-21 for gas treating apparatus.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Taikisha Ltd., Toyo Boseki Kabushiki Kaisha. Invention is credited to Koji Morioka, Hiromasa Ogata, Susumu Ohmori.
United States Patent |
5,017,202 |
Ogata , et al. |
May 21, 1991 |
Gas treating apparatus
Abstract
A gas treating apparatus including a treating flow passage
having a first opening and a second opening through which the gas
passes to be treated; a pair of ducts for transporting the
treatment-target gas or an element-refreshing gas through the
treating flow passage positioned between a third opening and a
fourth opening; and a rotary frame for radially supporting the
treating flow passage and unidirectionally rotatable relative to
the pair of ducts. At the upper and lower sides in the rotational
direction of the third and fourth openings, there are provided
first sealing members. As these sealing members come into sliding
contact with at least one of the sealing faces at the upper and
lower sides and at the sides of the first opening and of the second
opening, the members provide gas sealing effect between the
treating flow passage and the pair of ducts positioned between the
third and fourth openings and in the vicinity of the same.
Inventors: |
Ogata; Hiromasa (Tokyo,
JP), Morioka; Koji (Tokyo, JP), Ohmori;
Susumu (Tokyo, JP) |
Assignee: |
Taikisha Ltd. (Tokyo,
JP)
Toyo Boseki Kabushiki Kaisha (Tokyo, JP)
|
Family
ID: |
23320369 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/337,390 |
Filed: |
April 13, 1989 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
96/125 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B01D
53/06 (20130101); B01D 53/0446 (20130101); F24F
3/1423 (20130101); B01D 46/26 (20130101); F24F
2203/1032 (20130101); F24F 2203/1096 (20130101); F24F
2203/108 (20130101); F24F 2203/1004 (20130101); F24F
2203/1052 (20130101); F24F 2203/104 (20130101); F24F
2203/1068 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B01D
46/26 (20060101); B01D 46/24 (20060101); B01D
039/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;55/390 ;165/8,9 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Nozick; Bernard
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Gifford, Groh, Sprinkle, Patmore
and Anderson
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A gas treating apparatus for dehumidifying, deodorizing or heat
exchanging including:
a rotary frame having a pair of spaced apart plates, defining a
space therebetween;
a plurality of frame members mounted to said rotary frame,
each of said frame members spaced apart to define an accommodating
space;
a gas treating passage through the accommodating space radially
supported on said rotary frame;
means for rotating the frame;
a plurality of removable element blocks filled with a porous
substance;
means for slidingly accepting and removing said element blocks from
the accommodating space including rails mounted on one of said
plates;
said treating passage having a first opening and a second opening
through which the treatment-target gas flows to be treated;
a pair of ducts for transporting the gas or regenerating gas
through said element blocks and respectively having a third opening
and a fourth opening opposing to each other across the said
treating passage;
said rotary frame being unidirectionally rotatable relating to the
pair of ducts;
said pair of plates movable with respect to ducts;
a plurality of sealing walls formed substantially along rotatable
faces of the first and second openings and positioned on both sides
of the third and fourth openings; and
a plurality of first sealing members attached to each said frame
members and disposed between adjacent first openings and between
adjacent second openings;
wherein said each first sealing member comes into sliding contact
with one of said sealing walls disposed with both sides in said
relative rotational direction and at the sides of said first
opening and said second opening, thereby providing gas-tightness
with respect to said relative rotational direction between said
third and fourth openings and said treating flow passage and said
pair of ducts disposed adjacent thereto.
2. A gas treating apparatus of claim 1 wherein said relative
rotation of the rotary frame is effected while maintaining still
said pair of ducts and said sealing faces.
3. A gas treating apparatus of claim 1, wherein said each first
sealing member is formed of a lip-shaped elastic member.
4. A gas treating apparatus of claim 3, wherein said third opening
is larger than said first opening of treating passage.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas treating apparatus for
effecting a dehumidification treatment, deodorization treatment or
a heat exchange treatment on a target gas by causing the gas to
pass through an element block, and more particularly to a gas
treating apparatus comprising: a treating flow passage 10c having a
first opening 10a and a second opening 10b through which the gas
passes to be treated; a pair of ducts 11 and 12 for transporting
therethrough the treatment-target gas or an element-refreshing gas
and respectively having a third opening f1 and a fourth opening f2
opposing to each other across the treating flow passage 10c; and a
rotary frame 9 for radially supporting the treating flow passage
10c and unidirectionally rotatable relative to the pair of ducts 11
and 12.
2. Description of the Prior Art
According to a known gas treating apparatus of the above-noted
type, as shown in FIG. 8 for example, at the third and fourth
openings f1 and f2 respectively of the ducts 11 and 12 adjacently
opposing the first and second openings 10a and 10b of the element
block 10, there are provided fixed sealing faces 11a, 11b, 12a and
12b formed with slopes so as to extend along an upper peripheral
edge and a lower peripheral edge of the rotary frame 9 with respect
to its direction of rotation, respectively. During the rotation of
the rotary frame 9, these fixed sealing faces 11a, 11b, 12a and 12b
of the ducts are constantly maintained in sliding contacts with the
curved edges of the first and second openings 10a and 10b of the
element block 10 such that the constant sliding contact provides an
air-tight sealing between the ducts 11, 12 and the element block 10
(e.g. a Japanese utility model published under Showa No.
60-34991).
With the above construction; however, there occurs a significant
frictional wear in the sliding contact portions of the ducts and
block. Further, in order to obtain a good air-tightness, the curved
first and second openings of the element block and the curved fixed
sealing faces of the ducts must be formed and assembled with a high
precision. For this reason, the prior construction has failed to
achieve a desired air-tightness in spite of its manufacturing
difficulty.
In addition, generally, the element block need be regularly and
frequently exchanged for a new one. However, the block tends to be
costly because of the above-described manufacturing precision
difficulty of its first and second openings. Thus, if the block has
to be exchanged frequently because of such significant frictional
wear, this will increase the running costs of the treating
system.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a gas
treating apparatus which provides a superior air-tightness and yet
is easy and inexpensive to manufacture, assemble and run, the
object being accomplished by providing the rotary frame with a
novel and effective air-tight construction with respect to its
rotational direction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to achieve the above-noted object, according to a first
characterizing feature of the invention, in a gas treating
apparatus including: a treating flow passage having a first opening
and a second opening through which the gas passes to be treated; a
pair of ducts for transporting therethrough the treatment-target
gas or an element-refreshing gas and respectively having a third
opening and a fourth opening opposing to each other across the
treating flow passage; and a rotary frame for radially supporting
the treating flow passage and unidirectionally rotatable relative
to the pair of ducts, the apparatus of the invention comprises:
sealing faces formed substantially along rotatable faces of the
first and second openings and positioned in the upper side and
lower side of rotational direction of the third and fourth
openings; a first sealing member disposed between an adjacent pair
of the first openings and between an adjacent pair of the second
openings; wherein the first sealing member comes into sliding
contact with at least one of the sealing faces disposed at the
upper and lower sides in said relative rotational direction and at
the sides of the first opening and the second opening, thereby
providing gas-tightness with respect to the relative rotational
direction between the third and fourth openings and the treating
flow passage and the pair of ducts disposed adjacent thereto.
With the above first characterizing feature of the invention, since
the first and second openings of the gas treating flow passage do
not come into sliding contact with the fixed sealing faces of the
ducts, it becomes possible to avoid frictional wear in the element
block having the gas flow passage and also to reduce the
manufacturing precision required in the assembly of the element
blocks to the rotary frame without sacrificing the integrity of the
gas-tightness. Further, unlike the aforementioned prior art, such
high manufacturing precision is no longer needed in the formation
of the first and second openings of the gas flow passage, whereby
it becomes possible to form the element block into a simpler
configuration such as a rectangular or cylindrical shape which is
easier to manufacture.
Preferably, according to a second characterizing feature of the
invention, the first sealing member is formed of a lip-shaped
elastic member.
With this second characterizing feature of the invention, the
elastic deformation of the sealing member may advantageously offset
manufacturing or assembly tolerances, if any, of the sealing faces
of the ducts and the sealing members of the rotary frame.
Accordingly, the sealing members and fixed sealing faces may be
constantly maintained effectively sealed to each other through
their sliding contacts, whereby the apparatus may maintain further
superior gas-tightness in its rotational direction.
Consequently, according to the features of the invention, it has
become possible to effectively prevent leakage of the
treatment-target gas or the element-refreshing gas becasuse of the
superior gas-tightness established between the ducts and the gas
treating flow passage in the rotational direction. Moreover,
because of the simple construction, the manufacturing and assembly
costs of the gas treating apparatus per se have been advantageously
reduced.
Furthermore, because of the significantly reduced frictional wear
in the element blocks, the element blocks need not be exchanged
frequently. And, the element block has such simple construction as
to lower its manufacturing costs. These effects, when combined,
will significantly reduce the running costs of the apparatus.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Accompanying drawings illustrate one preferred embodiment of the
present invention; in which,
FIG. 1 is a vertical section,
FIG. 2 is a section taken along a line 2--2 of FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is an enlarged section of a major portion,
FIG. 4 is a enlarged section showing attachment of element
blocks,
FIG. 5 is a section taken along a line 5--5 of FIG. 4,
FIG. 6 is a section taken along a line 6--6 of FIG. 4,
FIG. 7 is a construction view showing an entire gas treating
system, and
FIG. 8 is a section showing a conventional construction.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be particularly
described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
FIG. 7 shows an entire gas treating system in which a gas treating
apparatus of the invention is to be used. In operation of this
system, a primary gas G1, which is a treatment-target gas, is fed
through a first duct 1 into a casing 2. In this casing 2, the gas
G1 is caused to pass through a roll filter 3 and then through a dry
pack filter 4. After these passages, the gas G1 reaches a cylinder
type rotary gas treating apparatus 5. In this apparatus 5, the gas
G1 undergoes a dehumidification treatment, deodorization treatment
or the like as the same passes through a gas treating flow passage
10c inside an element block 10. After the treatments, the gas is
exhausted out of the system through a second duct 7.
Next, the construction of the cylinder type rotary gas treating
apparatus 5 of the invention will be particularly described with
reference to FIGS. 1 through 6. In this apparatus 5, a casing 2
accommodates therein a rotary frame 9 rotated by a motor 8. The
rotary frame 9 holds at peripheral positions thereof a plurality of
element blocks 10 for treating the primary gas G1. The element
blocks 10 are aligned in the rotational, i.e. peripheral direction
of the rotary frame 9, with an orientation of a gas treating flow
passage formed in each element block 10 being aligned along the
radial direction of the rotary frame 9. A central space A
corresponding to a common bore of a cylindrical assembly
constituted by the group of these element blocks 10 is gas-tightly
communicated with a second duct 7. Further, in order to allow
passage of a secondary gas G2, which is the element-refreshing
high-temperature gas, only through a particular element block 10
currently positioned in a predetermined rotational phase of the
rotary frame 9, in this predetermined rotational phase, an opening
f1 of a third duct 11 as a secondary gas feed duct and an opening
f2 of a fourth duct 12 as a secondary gas exhaust duct are opposed
to each other across the element block 10, with the opening f1
adjacently facing the first opening 10a of the block 10 while the
opening f2 adjacently facing the second opening 10b of the same.
With the above construction in operation, as the primary gas G1 is
fed from the outer periphery of the rotary frame 9 to the central
space A through the treating flow passage 10c of the element block
10, the primary gas G1 undergoes the adsorption treatment in the
rotational phases of the frame other than the predetermined phase.
Simultaneously, as the secondary gas G2 is fed from the central
space A to the outer periphery of the frame 9 through the treating
flow passage 10c of the particular element block 10 positioned at
the predetermined rotational phase, the secondary gas G2 refreshes
this element block 10 through its passage by desorption process.
With a rotation of the rotary frame 9, these adsorption process of
the primary gas G1 and desortion process by the secondary gas G2
take place repeatedly and continuously through the treating flow
passages 10c of the element blocks 10. Incidentally, the second
duct 7 and the third duct 11 together form a so-called double-duct
construction, with the third duct 11 inwardly extending through the
second duct 7 to reach the central space A.
The rotary frame 9 is constituted by a plurality of triangular
cylindrical frame members 9a equidistantly dispersed in the
rotational direction and each member 9a having an isosceles
triangle shape when viewed from a rotational axis P, with each top
of the isosceles triangle being oriented towards the rotational
axis P. Further, the assembly of these frame members 9a is attached
with a top plate 13 and a bottom plate 14, thereby forming a
rectangular space between an adjacent pair of frames 9a for
accommodating the element blocks 10 introduced from the outer
periphery of the rotary frame 9. The top plate 13 defines a central
opening for communicating with the central space A of the second
duct 7. Whereas, the bottom plate 14 is formed as a circular blind
plate for closing the bottom of the central space A. Further, these
top plate 13 and the bottom plate 14 are rigidly connected with
each other by means of a bolt 15 extending between the plates 13,
14 across the interior of the rectangular frame member 9a and also
by a pipe frame 16 extending therebetween.
Inside the element block accommodating space, there are provided a
stopper 17 for preventing an inadvertent disengagement of the
element block 10 into the central space A and a metal securing
member 18 for rigidly binding the element block 10 inside the space
in cooperation with the stopper 17. Further, in order to regulate
the setting level of the element block 10 inside the accommodating
space and also to smoothe the insertion of the element block 10,
there is provided a rail 19 at the bottom of the accommodating
space. The stopper 17 is formed annular so as to come into contact
with an entire periphery of the peripheral edge of of the inner
edge face (the first opening 10a) of the element block 10 when the
same is inserted. Also, the inner edge face of the block 10
includes a rubber packing 20 at its peripheral edge which comes
into contact with the stopper 17. Accordingly, the pressure contact
between the stopper and the rubber packing 20 provides sealing
between the interior face of the accommodating space and the
element block 10 accommodated therein.
Next, there will be described the sealing construction for
gas-tightly sealing the treating flow passage 10c of the element
block 10 and the third and fourth ducts 11 and 12 in the rotational
direction. At the third and fourth openings f1 and f2 of the third
and fourth ducts 11 and 12 adjacently opposing the first and second
openings 10a and 10b of the element block 10, there are provided
fixed sealing faces 11a, 11b, 12a and 12b curved substantially
along the upper side edge portion and the lower side edge portion
in the rotational direction. On the other hand, between respective
first opening 10a and second opening 10b of an adjacent pair of
element blocks 10, there are respectively provided lip-shaped
rubber first sealing members 21 in parallel with the rotational
axis P. Accordingly, the sliding contacts between the fixed sealing
faces 11a, 11b and the first sealing member 21 provides reliable
sealing effect regardless of the rotational angle of the rotary
frame 9. More particularly, at the four fixed sealing faces 11a,
11b, 12a and 12b, the first sealing members 21 disposed between the
third and fourth openings f1 and f2 and between the adjacent pair
of the element blocks 10 positioned close to the same comes into
sliding contact with at least one position at the upper and lower
sides with respect to the rotational direction and at the first and
second openings 10a and 10b, thereby gas-tightly sealing the
treating flow passage 10c of the element block and the third and
fourth ducts 11 and 12 in the rotational direction of the rotary
frame 9. If the rotational-direction-wise length of each of the
fixed sealing faces 11a, 11b, 12a and 12b is so predetermined as to
exceed the disposing pitch of the first sealing members 21, these
fixed sealing faces always come into sliding contact with the first
sealing members 21.
Table 1 below shows sample dimensions in terms of angular
displacements of the respective elements in order to achieve the
above-described gas-tightness in the rotational direction of the
rotary frame.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ the third duct (11)
side (inner peripheral side of the rotary frame)
______________________________________ width of third opening x =
37.5.degree. length of upper side y1 = 32.degree. sealing face
length of lower side y2 = 32.degree. sealing face disposing pitch
of sealing z = 30.degree. members
______________________________________ the fourth duct (12) side
(outer peripheral side of the rotary frame)
______________________________________ width of third opening x =
37.5.degree. length of upper side y1 = 32.degree. sealing face
length of lower side y2 = 32.degree. sealing face disposing pitch
of sealing z = 30.degree. members
______________________________________
In positioning the first sealing member 21, its rotational phase
relation with respect to each of the fixed sealing faces 11a, 11b,
12a and 12b is set equal to each other in the inner peripheral side
and the outer peripheral side of the rotary frame. Incidentally, in
the present invention, the attaching phase of the first sealing
member 21 at the inner peripheral side of the rotary frame is
slightly displaced by an amount e from that at the outer peripheral
side of the same in order to further facilitate assembly. However,
without this displacement amount e, there would occur substantially
no change in the sealing effect of the construction. There is
provided a free space of about 50 mm between the fixed sealing
faces 11a, 11b, 12a and 12b with respect to the inner frame
periphery and the outer frame periphery. As the results, even when
the first opening 10a and the second opening 10b come into the same
phase as the fixed sealing faces 11a, 11b, 12a and 12 b, the gas
treating flow passages 10c may be constantly maintained at a good
air communication condition. Also, since the widths of the third
and fourth openings x and X are set longer than the disposing
pitches z and Z of the sealing members, two or three gas treating
flow passages 10c are supplied with the gas at the same time,
whereby the gas treating operation may be carried out in a stable
manner while restricting variations in the gas supply amount with
the rotation of the rotary frame.
In order to achieve gas-tightness in the direction of the
rotational axis P, at the upper edges of the third and fourth
openings f1 and f2 of the third and fourth ducts 11 and 12, there
are provided lip-shaped rubber second sealing members 22 which
provide a sealing effect when the same come into sliding contact
with the top plate 13. Similarly, at the lower edges of the third
and fourth openings f1 and f2, there are provided lip-shaped rubber
second sealing members 23 which provide a sealing effect when the
same come into sliding contact with the bottom plate 14. These
sealing members 22 and 23 together provide gas-tightness in the
direction of the rotational axis while the first sealing members 21
provide the gas-tightness in the rotational direction of the frame
as described hereinbefore. As the results, the treating flow
passages 10c and the third and fourth ducts 11 and 12 are sealed
from each other in said both directions. Further, in order to
establish a gas-tight communication between the second duct 7 and
the central space A, there is provided a lip-shaped rubber fourth
sealing member 24 which provides the sealing effect as the same
comes into sliding contact with the top plate 13 with the rotation
of the rotary frame 9, the sealing member 24 being formed annular
over the entire periphery of the peripheral edge of the opening end
of the second duct 7. Incidentally, these second, third and fourth
sealing members 22, 23 and 24 are placed in contact with the top
plate 13 or the bottom plate 14 with an initial elastic deformation
so as to bias their sliding side ends towards the high-pressure
space side. Thereby, the pressure-resistance of the sealing
construction is enhanced and at the same time the contact sealing
pressure of these members 22, 23 and 24 is enhanced by utilizing
the high pressure of the high-pressure space.
ALTERNATE EMBODIMENTS
Some alternate embodiments of the invention will be described
next.
In the previous embodiment, the element block 10 forming the gas
treating flow passage 10c is constructed as exchangeable. In place
of this, various modifications will be apparent for those skilled
in the art in the specific construction of the element block 10.
Also, the material characteristics of the elements constituting
each element block 10 may be conveniently determined with
consideration to the type of gas to be treated. Further, 12 units
of the elements blocks 10 are used in the previous embodiment.
However, if more element blocks are used (e.g. 24 units) to
increase the number of gas treating flow passages 10c to be
communicated at one time, it becomes possible to further restict
the variations in the gas supply amount with the rotation of the
rotary frame.
The specific construction of the rotary frame 9 and that of the
element block accommodating space of the same may be varied in many
ways.
Further, in the previous embodiment, the present invention is used
for achieving the gas sealing between the ducts 11, 12 for
transporting the element-refreshing gas and the gas treating flow
passages 10c of the element blocks 10. Instead, the invention may
be utilized for achieving gas sealing of the gas flow passage
extending between the duct for transporting the primary gas to the
element block 10.
The sealing faces 11a, 11b, 12a and 12b need not necessarily be
formed as curved faces but may be formed as straight faces in case
the attaching pitch of the first sealing members is smaller.
It is also conceivable to rotate the ducts 11 and 12 while
maintaining still the frame 9 carrying the element blocks 10. That
is to say, what is meant by `rotation` in the present invention
comprises a relative rotation between the frame and the ducts 11,
12.
The first sealing members 21 may be formed of elastic materials
other than the rubber used in the previous embodiment.
Lastly, the cylinder type rotary gas treating apparatus of the
invention may be used for treating various kinds of gaseous
matters.
* * * * *